Please, God
by Dautr abr du Sundavar
Summary: WARNING: Spoilers for both Scorpia and Ark Angel! Summary inside. I couldn't think of a way to phrase the summary so that it wouldn't give away the books, so...yeah. Sorry. Is now part of a series! So...First in the "Redemption" series.


**A/N: Sorry I had to put the summary in here, but I didn't want to spoil the books for people who hadn't read them yet.**

**Summary: After Alex is shot at the end of _Scorpia_, Jack finds herself doing something she always scorned.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or the song "Dare You to Move"

* * *

**

Jack had never considered herself a religious person. In fact, she often made fun of people who were, saying that they "put their faith in nothing but imagination." But when she got the fateful call from M16, she found herself praying the second she hung up.

_Welcome to the planet  
Welcome to existence  
Everyone's here  
Everyone's here  
Everybody's watching you now  
Everybody waits for you now  
What happens next?  
What happens next?_

_God_, she prayed, _I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you're even there. I do know that I haven't been the best of people, and neither has Alex. But please, don't let him die. Please._

_I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened before_

She got into the car, feeling the prickling that signaled the onset of tears. _Be with him, please, God_, she pleaded. _Don't let the shooter have hit a fatal spot. Please, keep my Alex safe._

_Welcome to the fallout  
Welcome to resistance  
The tension is here  
The tension is here  
Between who you are and who you could be  
Between how it is and how it should be  
Yeah_

She moved from pleading to begging._ I know that we haven't lived the best lives, but hey, we could have been worse. I can think of about a million things I've done that I shouldn't have. But right now...People have told me that you always forgive everything. So please, just...be with my Alex. Let him live._

_I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened_

As she pulled into the hospital parking lot, her cheeks were wet with tears. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was a mess, but she didn't care. She ran into the hospital, literally running into a nurse who was on her way into the OR. "How is he? Do you know?" Jack asked the nurse, her voice hoarse.

The nurse hesitated before saying, "He's pretty bad. But with a whole lot of luck, he just might pull through."

At that, Jack collapsed on the floor, sobbing. She didn't notice the nurse nod for someone else to assist the surgeon. Jack did, however, notice the small cross on a chain around the nurse's neck as she bent down.

_Maybe redemption has stories to tell  
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell  
Where can you run to escape from yourself?  
Where you gonna go?  
Where you gonna go?  
Salvation is here_

She stared at the cross, and the nurse followed her gaze. "Miss Starbright, isn't it?" the nurse asked Jack gently.

Jack nodded, not even questioning how the nurse knew her name. "Please," she whispered, "would you...would you pray for my Alex?"

"_We'll_ pray for Alex," the nurse replied.

And they did.

_I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to lift yourself  
To lift yourself up off the floor  
I dare you to move  
I dare you to move  
Like today never happened  
Today never happened  
Today never happened_

In the operating room, the doctors were on the verge of giving up. The patient was virtually unresponsive, and fading fast. Suddenly, though, his formerly weak heartbeat strengthened, his blood pressure stabilized, and the chief surgeon realized exactly what she needed to do.

No one would ever openly acknowledge what happened in that room as a miracle. But everyone – doctors, nurses, Jack, and Alex – knew that the young spy should not have survived.

_Today never happened before

* * *

_

**A/N: So whadja think? Well?**

**I debated doing this as a second chapter of "Homesick," but it wouldn't quite fit. So then I thought of the ending of _Scorpia_ and the beginning of _Ark Angel_, and BAM! This was born. :)  
**


End file.
